Blood is thicker than water
by Viscountess Babbles-On
Summary: The sequel to The Blood Connection. And it even has a new chapter added! No fooling! Check it out! Or check out the first story if you haven't read that yet. *L*
1. Chapter One: Sleeping Memories

Chapter One: Sleeping memories  
  
  
  
Did you know you could fall asleep when using a pensieve?  
  
Harry Snape-Potter had just found out. In the middle of the night, he had woken from vaguely disturbing dreams - of what, he wasn't quite sure. The dorm, naturally, was dark, and as silent as a room with four sleeping teenage boys could be. On the pillow by Harry's head, his quetzalcoatl familiar was curled in a slumbering ball of feathers and scales.  
  
Harry couldn't go back to sleep; he was too restless. Instead, he retrieved from its hiding place the stone bowl full of memories his father, Severus Snape had given him for his birthday. Sitting cross-legged in the middle of his bed, the curtains drawn about him, Harry caressed the cool stone of the pensieve in his lap for a moment. It was strangely difficult to imagine that only a little over a month and a half ago, Harry had believed himself to be Harry James Potter, son of Lily and James.  
  
Now, of course, he knew himself to be Harry James Severus Snape-Potter, son of Severus Snape and James Potter, nephew of Lily Evans. And in those six short weeks, he had - almost miraculously, it seemed - come to terms with who he really was. He had made peace with the Potions Professor and discovered that - far from hating him - Severus actually loved him, and Harry had come to return the sentiment.  
  
Harry's acceptance was due in no small part to this pensieve. It contained memories from his father of the times that Severus had spent with his husband and his half-sister. Harry saw in this device's silver-white fluid a man he had no idea existed. After seeing this new side to his father - and receiving from him the affection he had craved his entire life - Harry quickly accepted Severus.  
  
Harry shifted slightly and the fluid memories swirled in the bowl, the light casting dancing shadows over the boy's face. He blinked his eyes rapidly, bringing them back to focus on the pensieve. He knew there were still memories in here that he hadn't touched upon. His father had hinted at a memory of his parents' wedding, which he'd yet to discover....  
  
He hadn't yet put any of his own memories into it, either. He decided that he would leave that for another day. He wasn't entirely sure of the procedure and he didn't want to end up spilling all his memories into the bowl and leave himself with amnesia.  
  
Harry fumbled for his wand on his bed-side table, almost upsetting the pensieve in the process. He quickly righted himself and caught the bowl just as it was about to slide from his lap.  
  
More adept at using the device now, Harry dipped his wand until it just grazed the surface of the silver-white fluid and watched as the contents swirled and cleared. He found himself looking through a window-like aperture at two young men as they sat side-by-side on a lakeshore. Harry recognized this memory. It was the second one he had ever viewed.  
  
Exerting his will, Harry forced the memory away and allowed another to rise to the surface. When the fluid cleared again, Harry was looking into the room he now recognized as his fathers' bedroom in the London flat they had briefly occupied. The lighting in the room suggested night, and Harry knew which memory this would be as well.  
  
He exerted his will again, sending that memory swirling away. Green rippled across the fluid's surface and another scene steadied before Harry's eyes. A forest lane warm with autumn sunshine lay there, and Harry didn't recognize it. He let his finger touch the fluid and braced himself for the swirling transition into memory.  
  
~ Harry opened his eyes to a warm afternoon rich with the scents of a forest in autumn. The damp smell of loam and the crisp smell of a distant hay-field filled his nostrils. The sunshine was a warm pressure where it touched him through leaves turning to all the shades of fall. Birds twittered quietly to themselves and unidentified creatures scurried in the underbrush. From behind Harry came to sound of voices.  
  
~ Harry had expected to see his father with his dad. Instead, when he turned, he found his aunt, Lily, standing by his father in the forest glade.  
  
~ Harry blinked. This.... was not really what he had been expecting. Lily was wearing dress robes of a rich brown velvet edged in deep green. Her auburn hair tumbled in loose curls about her shoulders and was interwoven with autumn wildflowers.  
  
~ Harry's father wore dress robes as well, finely cut robes of raw silk in so dark a blue that Harry first mistook it for black. A fine white satin shirt made itself known at the young man's throat and cuffs and the mid- shoulder length black hair was held back with a band of silver wire. Harry looked closer and realized the band was in the form of a small snake with garnet chips for eyes.  
  
~ In short, both siblings looked to be dressed for an occasion and Harry felt suddenly under-dressed, despite the fact that he was the only one who knew he was there.  
  
~ Lily spoke and Harry realized that Severus was wringing his hands.  
  
~ "Relax Sev. They won't be here for at least another two hours," Lily sighed and lowered herself gracefully to the ground.  
  
~ As Harry moved closer, he saw his father glance down at his white- knuckled hands. Severus dropped them to his sides and started pacing again. He glared at his sister as the young woman calmly withdrew a charms book from a basket that sat at the foot of a nearby tree.  
  
~ "You brought a *book* to my *wedding*?" Severus sputtered indignantly.  
  
~ Harry stared at him. Wedding? Well that explained the robes at least.  
  
~ Lily sighed, "No, Sev. I brought a book to read *before* your wedding. You were the one that insisted we leave two hours early."  
  
~ Severus snorted and spun on his heel, pacing to the other end of the quiet autumn glade. Lily ignored her older brother's nervous theatrics and opened the charms book.  
  
~ "I don't know what you're so worried about," she said offhandedly, "I'm sure James would have told you if he'd wanted to call it off."  
  
~ At the far end of the glade, Severus growled and spun to start the journey back towards the tree his sister sat under. Lily calmly turned a page, "Well, if it's not that that's bothering you, what is it? You can't possibly be worried about someone wondering where we are........?"  
  
~ Her comment was meet with silence and Harry transferred his gaze to his still-pacing father. Severus's face was blank and his hands white-knuckled.  
  
~ Lily smirked a little and set her book aside to go and stand in Severus's path. Severus tried to sidestep her, but she mirrored his actions. He crossed his arms and glared at her. Harry wasn't surprised to see that his father's glare had no effect on his aunt.  
  
~ "Sev," she said softly, "No one is going to find out. Father thinks we've gone to London for the day. My mother thinks I'm at Hogwarts still. *Your* mother couldn't care less where you were unless she needs you, which she doesn't. Stop worrying about it."  
  
~ "I am *not* worrying!" snapped Severus. He spun on his heel and marched across the clearing to sit broodingly on a fallen log. Lily snorted and Harry echoed her. Then the boy was left standing alone in the middle of the memory clearing as Lily returned to her book.  
  
~ Several minutes passed in which neither Lily nor Severus spoke or moved. Harry wandered about the forest glade. Beneath a tree directly opposite the lane on which he had entered the glade, Harry discovered a small altar-like slab of stone. Arrayed on its surface was a scroll of parchment, an elegant quill, a bottle of royal purple ink and various other paraphernalia Harry supposed was used in a wizard wedding. He ghosted a hand over the parchment, knowing he wouldn't be able to disturb it, but wishing he could read the document.  
  
~ He started when a sharp snap sounded behind him. It was followed by a soft thump as Lily dropped her book. Harry turned away from the altar to find Lily glaring across the clearing at her brother. Severus still held in his hands the two pieces of the stick he had just broken in half. He smirked at her and calmly snapped both pieces in half again.  
  
~ Lily scowled, "Well, if you're bored, it's your own fault. It'll be another hour and a half before James and Remy get here."  
  
~ Severus ignored her and continued to break the stick into smaller and smaller pieces. Lily huffed and went back to her book and - for the most part - the glade was silent again.  
  
~ Harry slumped down in a beam of sunshine and lent his head back against a convenient tree. Through half-hooded eyes, he observed his father as the young man entertained himself now by inspecting the wild herbs that grew at the forest verge.  
  
~ 'Ever the Potions Master,' Harry thought and blinked drowsily.  
  
That was when Harry discovered that you could fall asleep when using a pensieve.  
  
Of course, he didn't at first realize what was going on. All he knew was that he wasn't in the autumn forest glade anymore, waiting to witness his fathers' wedding. Without the normal swirl of darkness, Harry found himself in a pale green room. That was the first sign that something wasn't quite as it should be.  
  
The second was when he turned around and saw the three people in the room, none of whom were his father. Well, that wasn't strictly true. Rather: none of whom were his father *Severus* *Snape*. Because that man there with the child was definitely James Potter. And the young woman at his side was surely Lily Evans. And the green-eyed infant that James held was surely Harry himself....  
  
The door opened and Harry spun around expecting to see his other father enter the room. It wasn't. A young wizard with a cold face entered the room, followed by a middle-aged witch whose face was liberally sprinkled with smile lines. Both were dressed in white robes reminiscent of the coats that medical staff in the muggle world wore.  
  
Harry couldn't understand why, if this was one of his father's memories, his father was no where to be seen. Too tired to force his mind to concentrate on the matter, Harry shrugged, philosophizing that he could always worry about it later and turned back to the scene before him.  
  
The young wizard was trying to take the infant Harry from James's arms, but the child was crying loudly and James refused to pass him over. Instead, the dark-haired man took his son's arm gently and held it out, wrist up. The medi-wizard - as Harry know realized he must be - scowled but set a vampire-leech on the baby's arm anyway.  
  
A blood test, Harry realized. This was a memory of a medical check up. More to the point, this was *Harry's* memory of a medical check up. It couldn't be anybody else's. Both Lily and James were dead and Severus wasn't in evidence. Somehow, Harry supposed the pensieve had retrieved this incident from Harry's own mind.........  
  
The leech reached the size James's pinkie finger before the medi-wizard removed it. Roughly. The infant Harry howled and the teenager flinched. James and Lily glared blue-murder at the foolish wizard, as did the older medi-witch. James cradled the sobbing child close and turned away.  
  
The medi-wizard scowled darkly and left the room stiffly, letting the door slam behind him.  
  
"Shhhh shh shh," soothed James, "Shh, sweet. Daddy's here. Daddy won't let him hurt you."  
  
The baby's sobs quieted and the eyes slit sleepily. Behind James, the medi- witch was talking to Lily.  
  
"I never liked that young man. Too rough with the younguns," she huffed in a motherly fashion. She had just opened her mouth to say something further when the medi-wizard entered the room again. The witch frowned and muttered to Lily, "Should never have been let near your boy........"  
  
James turned about again, but held his son protectively close to his chest. Lily moved over to stand by him and the kindly witch followed, scowling still at the medi-wizard.  
  
"I need to know your blood-magic types," he said without any preamble.  
  
James and Lily were immediately wary.  
  
Lily crossed her arms, "Why do you need to know that?"  
  
The young medi-wizard drew himself up indignantly, as though he couldn't believe someone was questioning him, "Mrs. Evans, I assure you I would not be asking if it weren't necessary."  
  
Harry stared. Evans? Mrs? They weren't here under their real names? Then again, he supposed that made sense. If a medical test should prove Lily not be the mother, at least with the pseudonyms, the trio wouldn't be traced back to Severus Snape.  
  
James drew himself up as well, "What I think my wife is asking, Mr. Gray, is *why* is it necessary. Surely we have a right to know?"  
  
The medi-wizard's chin came down and Harry could just tell he was going to exert his false authority. Fortunately, the medi-witch stepped in.  
  
"What have you found, Mr. Gray?"  
  
Obviously, her word carried weight, because the medi-wizard sullenly answered, "The boy's blood-magic type is O-sigma," as though that explained it all. And it did to the medi-witch. Her eyes widened.  
  
She turned to James and Lily and smiled reassuringly at their suspicious looks, "Mr. Gray is just enthusiastic, I'm afraid. It is not often that one encounters the blood-magic type O-sigma. Do you know much of the blood- magic types?" she continued in the face of James and Lily's rather blank expressions.  
  
Lily shook her head, and James replied, "I know only what all wizarding children do: that each person has a different magic type as well as a different blood type and that the two types combine and affect the person's magic on a whole in some manner........"  
  
"Huh," snorted the medi-wizard, "a crude way of putting it."  
  
He was silenced by three glares. The medi-witch, deliberately turned her back on him as she addressed Lily and James again, "O-sigma is the rarest of types. In fact, only one in over five thousand wizarding children is born with it, and usually only if one of the parents is a carrier.  
  
"On the rare occasion that we encounter a carrier, we like to document it in order to help with our research into the different blood-magic types," she smiled kindly again, "It would aid as greatly if you would consent to allow us to register your child."  
  
Before either Lily or James could speak, the brash young medi-wizard interrupted, "We only need Mrs. Evans's blood-magic type. We took Mr. Evans's on a previous trip."  
  
"If you will excuse us for a moment........" the medi-witch took the young wizard by the arm and forcefully directed him out of the room, closing the door after her. Lily immediately turned to James.  
  
"We can't let them take my blood-magic type! It probably won't match Harry's and then they'll know I'm not his mother!"  
  
"You don't know what type you are?"  
  
"No!" Lily wailed quietly, "I mean, I know my blood type is AB, but that was a muggle blood test! Oh, maybe we should just leave before Madame Hale comes back?"  
  
"Lily! Calm down. It'll be okay. You've been tense and jumpy all day. Look, your blood type is AB. They already know that my blood-magic type is O- theta, so we'll just tell them that your magic type is AB-sigma. My cousin had that blood-magic type, so I know it's possible.  
  
"So long as we don't let them test you, we'll be fine. We're here under pseudonyms anyway."  
  
Harry could see his aunt pause for a moment and think. Finally she nodded.  
  
"AB-sigma," she nodded just as the door began to open. Harry turned towards it and staggered.  
  
Abruptly, with no visible transition, he wasn't in the same pale green room anymore and his father and aunt weren't with him.  
  
He turned around.  
  
He was standing in the middle of a nursery. *His* nursery, he supposed. It had to be, since the only person in the room was the infant in the cot, staring with wide green eyes through him at the door.  
  
Harry turned back to the door as well. The door was opening. Quickly. It slammed against the wall and almost bounced back in the face of the person entering, but she was through it too quickly. She ran straight through the spot that Harry stood in and scooped the baby from his cot.  
  
Harry followed her movements, realizing that the woman was Lily. And that she was afraid. She was whispering, "Please. Please. Not Harry. Please not Harry."  
  
Harry stared at her. She was pale and trembling and clutching the child close. She ran to the window and worried at the stiff latch, whispering all the while.  
  
And it was only when Harry heard the door open behind him again that he understood.  
  
Without turning, without moving at all, he knew who would be standing in the doorway behind him. He knew what was about to happen. He didn't want to be here. He didn't want to relive this memory. He tried to lift his conscience from the pensieve and found it impossible.  
  
A papery-dry voice whispered behind him, "The child, girl. Give him to me."  
  
Lily paled yet further and turned her back to the monster. Harry, urged by some awful compulsion, turned to face Voldemort, not quite knowing what he would see. The man standing in the doorway, his wand leveled at Lily, looked so much like the Tom Riddle from the diary that Harry gasped: same hair, same height, same nose, same everything. Except for the red eyes.  
  
And that just seemed to make it worse.  
  
Repulsed and terrified, Harry fell away. He ended against the nearest wall, cowering with his head between his knees. He couldn't do this. Not again. His arms pressed down on his head, covering his ears. But he could still hear. He could still hear Lily cry and Voldemort hiss -  
  
"Not Harry! Not Harry! Please - I'll do anything-"  
  
"Stand aside - Stand aside, girl -"  
  
Harry sobbed harshly. And then:  
  
"Little lord!"  
  
Something smooth and cool brushed against the back of Harry's hand and a forked tongue flicked at the edge of his ear, "Little lord, you mussst wake. You mussst wake if you don't wisssh to live thisss again. Little lord -"  
  
And Harry realized that Sakuna was right. He *was* asleep. And he could wake himself up and leave this memory behind........  
  
Harry's eyes snapped open and he found himself back in the middle of his bed, slumped uncomfortably over the pensieve still in his lap. His quetzalcoatl, Sakuna, was wrapped reassuringly tight about his neck, hissing soothingly in his ear.  
  
Harry reflexively thrust the pensieve away from him, denying the memories he had recovered in its depths. Denying that most awful Hallowe'en night fourteen years previous. The pensieve slid off the foot of the bed and onto Harry's trunk.  
  
Harry flopped, exhausted, back onto his pillow. That was almost worse then the vision he received by way of his scar. At least those he knew didn't come from his own mind. He was trembling and cold and clammy. Hot tears slid down his cheeks. Sakuna curled in a comforting ball on his chest, hissing soothing nonsense sounds.  
  
Harry knew he should probably go and tell someone about the pensieve and what it had done. He should probably tell his father about the memories he had recovered. He knew he should. And he would.  
  
But not just now........ Not just........ now.........  
  
Exhausted and emotionally wracked, Harry fell into a dreamless sleep just as the sun began to rise.  
  
  
  
  
  
TBC  
  
  
  
  
  
AN: So? How was that for the first chapter of my sequel? Doesn't really give you any idea of where I'm going with it does it? That's probably because I don't have that clear an idea just yet. But I'd still love to here your opinions/comments/criticisms. And any ideas you might have to help me along the way......... *L*  
  
See that pretty blue button at the bottom of the screen? Pressing that means I update more quickly. The more times it gets pressed, the faster I update. 


	2. Chapter Two: Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

AN: There's really no excuse for me having left this so long. I'm really extremely sorry I haven't updated in the last age. All I can say is that Writer's Block is a bitch ('scuse language). On the plus side, I did get a squillion reviews out of it! (Okay only 41, but come on! That's (as Ron would put it) bloody brilliant.  
  
Now, you're all going to hate me, but bear with me a while, while I thank all my reviewers:  
  
Ayame: Thank you so, so much for your help and advice with this chapter, I really do appreciate it.  
  
Mikee: No, a grindylow didn't get the first chapter *snicker* And thanks for the enthusiastic review of my author's note ^_~  
  
Kaat ShadowLover: No, Harry didn't get to see the rest of his parents' wedding, but it's still floating around in there somewhere. I might even get back to it at some stage. And yes, Harry's memories did get left in the pensieve, as is mentioned in the next chapter. I hope this story lives up to your expectations.  
  
Oompa: *huge grin* Really? 800 times? I feel loved!  
  
Minerva-Severus-Dumbledore: Hehe, yes. I hope my sequel isn't a wash-out like a lot of sequels are.  
  
adrina skywalker: Thanks. Sorry I wasn't too quick about getting this next chapter out.  
  
Lee Lee Potter: *L* I'm just glad you liked it so much. And I'm glad I managed to refresh your memory at the beginning there without going on and on for pages about it all. Lessee. Yes, Harry's memory stays in the pensieve. And - I'm not entirely sure whether or not Severus actually saw that memory. He ran out of the room before I could ask him. *mysterious look* All will be explained in the NEXT chapter.  
  
xikum: Ooooo! Fuel for my imagination! Re-reading your review just gave me a great idea! Thank you! When I use it, I'll dedicate the chapter to you. Hmm as for the rest of your review. Draco. I have some ideas for him, but I'm not sure what they mean. I THINK he will be good, but there's no slashiness ahead for my two favourite students. Since the whole memories and pensieve thing is part of the idea you gave me, I won't comment on it at this time, mm-kay? And you do have any ideas for me (yes! Please say yes! Hehe) just email them to me. My email address is in my bio. And as for that story.. I THINK I know which one your talking about. I'll see if I can find it and I'll send you the address.  
  
Madame Padfoot: I think I can say yes to the romance for Sev part. I'm pretty much decided on that. And as for Harry's memories of Sev. there's a good chance of that too, only I don't know what they would be. At the moment, I only have an idea for one other memory, thanks to my friend Ayame.  
  
Vita Brevis: (an aside: I find your nom-de-plume really interesting. Where'd you come up with it?) Hehe. Always glad to oblige my reviewers, even tho it's taken me a while to get this chapter out.  
  
Linds: Fantastic ass, hey? Cool. I like the sound of that.  
  
Mikee (back again): lol, your questions have been answered. In part in this chapter, and the rest in the next one.  
  
Saavik: -_- You know, I never paused to think if a pensieve could spill. But surely not, right? I mean, it is a magical device. But still, interesting thought. *considers stealing it to use in another fic*  
  
Shambling Silk: Try and stop me. ^_~  
  
Asioleh: *grins* Sorry I kept you hanging for so long on the sequel, and then again on the second chapter. I promise that the next chapter won't take nearly so long. As for those romances: There will be a Severus one, but I'm not sure about a Harry one. If there IS a Harry one, it won't be Harry/Draco, I'm afraid.  
  
Rhiannon: You're welcome. *g* I only hope the sequel IS as good as TBC  
  
Kayla Summers: Yes, I know I need to get better at updating. and thank you so much for the compliment.  
  
tima: More, more! I need more compliments! I thrive on compliments! *laughs* Thank you! I do love compliments.  
  
Schulyr: Wow. Thank you. I really do try to make my stories believable and original. And as for that truce between Draco and Harry, that will be expanded on. I really do hate Draco being made out to be the bad guy.  
  
Elektra Joradees Gamblin: Eh. Silly rule about only one review per chapter. It's a good thing I have another chapter already lined up after this one.  
  
Diana Lucille Snape: Um, well Sirius and Remus feature in this chapter, but no Draco yet, sorry. And thank you for hanging around to READ my sequel.  
  
Azaelian: You know, when I first introduced the pensieve, I never intended it to have such a large role in my story, but it's managed to make itself central. And the blood-magic type thing will be explored more thoroughly in this story too.  
  
Tantz: Confetti? For me? Why thank you. As for the plug: any time.  
  
Lokia: lol, I do like making people laugh. Especially when I get to shock the characters doing so. Only, I'm not sure how funny this one will be.  
  
Dark Blood: Why thank you. I WAS a little worried that the firs chapter would go wrong, but not anymore.  
  
Heston: Thank you. I'd hate to think that anything I'd written wasn't original in at least one aspect. That's almost as bad as losing someone's attention. ^_~  
  
ptijade: Well, it's not quite soon, but it is un update.  
  
Aurelius: Erm, sorry about keeping you waiting  
  
Sakura Le: It doesn't matter if you never reviewed the first part. You reviewed this part, and for that I'm eternally grateful.  
  
Gryffie: In a manner of speaking: Yes, Harry's blood type is exactly the reason he survived Voldemort's attack. And yes, the blood-magic type does have a lot to do with this story.  
  
Allin Aspire: lol, the quetzalcoatl are another thing that was meant to be inconsequential to my story, but got away on me. I'm glad you enjoyed the Blood Connection and are enjoying this fic  
  
Katwoman: Oh, don't worry about me stopping writing it. I'd probably be hounded to death if I did.  
  
Dark-One Shadowphyre: Hey. Thank you for reviewing my story. And I really did have to write a sequel to the Blood Connection, so you're in luck ^_~  
  
SilverWolf: You know, I'm not sure how he had that memory pulled from him. And you'd think I would, since it's my plot device *g*  
  
ZetaStar: Why thank you. You've read more than one of my stories? *is flattered*  
  
Delfeus: I'm sorry. I have to disappoint you. No Harry/Draco in this story, no matter how much I'd love to have it in there. I just didn't want both father AND son to be gay. But there's other slash.  
  
Lisa: Yes! Update your story! Now, on to your review. *g* I know what you mean about not having enough time on the internet! I need more! You know, I was actually considering emailing you and asking if you'd mind if I used your idea about the pensieve myself.. But then I decided not too. ^_^ lol, just for you, I'll show the rest of the wedding memory at some point. *blushes* thank you for saying my idea was original. That's the highest praise you could give me! *glomps*  
  
the-ladyship-writers: Hehe, that's the idea. You're not meant to think of any of it until after I've written it. And then you're meant to go: 'Of course! How could I miss that? It was so obvious!' Ah, if only I could write like that. Glad your enjoying it.  
  
serapotter: Great, huh? Glad you think so.  
  
samson: Ooo, do you think you could beg a little? It would really boost my ego. *laughs* So glad you enjoyed the first story and like my snakes. I'm rather fond of them myself. I even have one of my own. Her name is Saami and her feathers are red and gold, much to my Slytherin disgust. Lol  
  
Oompa (again): No! Don't bug me! Anything but that! On the other hand. it WOULD mean more emails. *L* But since you threatened so nicely (and since I happened to have finished the chapter) here's the next instalment:  
Just one final thing before I let you get on with reading this long overdue chapter: Thank you to EMMA for beating this chapter for me, and pointing out a weakness in one of the paragraphs. I never would have noticed it otherwise.  
  
Chapter Two: Let sleeping dogs lie  
  
Harry again woke from disturbing dreams the next morning, only this time he remembered what they had been about. Over and over again his mind repeated that scene from the night Voldemort had killed Lily and James, and this time there was no Sakuna telling him to wake up.  
  
Harry groaned and rubbed at his burning eyes. He added dreamless sleep potions to the list of things to ask his father about.  
  
Slowly waking to full awareness of his surroundings, Harry realised someone was calling his name.  
  
"Harry! Harry mate, get up!" Ron ripped Harry's covers from him, "If you don't hurry, you'll be late for breakfast.  
  
Harry sat up groggily and fumbled for his glasses, "What time is it?"  
  
"Late!" replied Ron, "Hurry up, there's waffles this morning."  
  
Stifling another groan, Harry slid out of bed and grabbed his school robes, "Why don't you go on ahead, Ron? I'll meet you and 'Mione down there in fifteen minutes okay?"  
  
Without waiting for Ron's reply, Harry headed for the bathroom to splash copious amounts of cold water on his face in hopes of waking himself up.  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
Ten minutes later, Harry was heading down the last set of stairs into the Entrance Hall, on his way to breakfast, not late at all. He was just in time to see his father entering the Great Hall ahead of him. Suddenly he had the burning need to confirm what he had seen in his pensieve the night before. He skipped the last risers and ran to catch up with his father.  
  
Harry slammed into the hall after Severus, drawing attention from the closest students. Severus was already pacing down the aisle between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables. Not wanting to chase his father right down the hall, Harry called out instead.  
  
"Pater!"  
  
There came the sound of sharply indrawn breaths from both sides, and when Harry turned his head, he met disbelieving eyes from the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, even the Slytherins. Evidently, no one had really believed the fifth year Slytherins when they spread the story - Draco and his cohorts were looking particularly smug at being vindicated.  
  
Harry sighed and looked away just as his father paused in front of him and turned. Severus glared mildly at the staring students as he strode back towards his son. Once within comfortable speaking distance, he turned his glare on Harry.  
  
"I believe I told you not to address me as such in front of other students, Mr Snape-Potter."  
  
Harry flushed, "Sorry, Professor."  
  
Severus nodded curtly, "Now, you wished to speak to me?"  
  
Harry was aware of the many eyes and the listening silence surrounding them and tempered his answer.  
  
"Yes, but........ uh, not here?" he rolled his eyes sideways at the house tables.  
  
Severus followed his gesture and glared coldly at the students until eyes began to drop and there was an industrious resumption of noise. He nodded at his son, and swept past him, out into the Entrance Hall again. Harry caught Ron and Hermione's eyes from the Gryffindor table and shrugged ruefully before following his father.  
  
Standing in the middle of the Entrance Hall, Severus turned to face his son, folding his arms across his chest.  
  
"What is it you wanted, Harry?"  
  
Harry moved to stand in front of his father and shifted his weight a little nervously. At least he was being addressed as a son instead of a student again.  
  
Harry wasn't sure where to start, so in the end he just blurted: "Was Dad's blood-magic type O-theta?"  
  
Severus looked taken-aback at the abrupt question. He paused a moment before answering, "I - yes, it was. But how did you know that?"  
  
Harry shuffled his feet and gazed down at them, "I remembered."  
  
"You *remembered*?" Severus asked, surprised, "How could you remember something like that?"  
  
Harry was a little embarrassed about the fact that he'd fallen asleep using his pensieve and wouldn't met his father's eyes as he answered, "I, um - I was using my pensieve last night and I - kind of - fell asleep........"  
  
Severus shifted his weight closer to his son, "What do you mean you 'kind of' fell asleep?"  
  
Harry flushed slightly and met Severus's eyes, "I feel asleep *in* the pensieve."  
  
Severus drew back, "You feel asleep *in* the pensieve? How did you manage that?"  
  
Harry opened his mouth to answer, but he was interrupted by the clatter of a group of first years running late for breakfast and he snapped his mouth closed.  
  
Severus watched the students out of sight into the Great Hall, then turned back to his son.  
  
"We'll talk about this tonight at dinner. Bring your pensieve with you to my rooms."  
  
Severus only paused long enough to receive Harry's nod of agreement before he gave his son a small smile and swept back into the Great Hall. After a moment, Harry followed him, still puzzling over what he'd seen in the pensieve last night. When he sat down next to Hermione at the table, it took her elbowing him in the side to get his attention. She asked what was wrong, but Harry only shook his head and went back to trying to figure out why those two memories had risen to the surface of his mind, and wondering if they were the only ones that had.  
  
* * * * * * *  
  
Harry was distracted all day. He simply couldn't concentrate on anything for more than a moment. In Herbology, as the rest of the class was weeding the herb patch, Harry was de-herbing the weed patch. In DADA, when Professor Lupin asked him how he'd dealt with the Grindylow in the second task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, he told the class that he'd used the *Accio* charm. In Transfiguration, Harry managed to turn the chair he was meant to be changing into a broomstick into a cot. He had turned pale at the sight of it and didn't respond when McGonagall told him to turn it back. He lost Gryffindor ten points.  
  
When finally classes ended for the day and Ron and Hermione tried to ask him what was wrong with him, he wouldn't answer. He challenged Ron to a chess game instead. Which he lost within ten minutes because his mind kept wandering upstairs to his pensieve.  
  
Finally, at a quarter to seven, as his housemates were starting to head down to the Great Hall for dinner, Harry retrieved his pensieve from his room and headed towards the dungeons and his father's rooms.  
  
He caught up to Professor Lupin and Snuffles in the dungeon corridor. Remus had one hand clenched in the scruff of Snuffles' neck and the great black dog appeared to be dragging his feet.  
  
"Hello Professor. Hey Snuffles," Harry said as he approached the slow- moving pair. He eyed his godfather's animagus form before turning to the other man, "What's wrong with Snuffles, Professor?"  
  
"Padfoot's not too happy about spending the evening with your father," if that smile had been on his father, Harry would have called it a smirk, but he'd never seen Remus smirk before.  
  
Snuffles growled and fought against the restraining grip on his scruff. He was no match for Remus's werewolf strength, however, and only earned himself the full brunt of Remus's smirk, "He doesn't really have a choice in the matter, though. Dumbledore thought it would be a good idea."  
  
Snuffles rolled his eyes and Harry had to agree. The last time his father and godfather had been in the same room together, they'd gotten into a yelling match that had ended with Harry storming out, angry with them both. Well, maybe with Remus there this evening, it would go differently.  
  
Harry shifted the weight of the pensieve in his arms, freeing one of his hands. He rested his freed hand on Snuffles' shoulders, causing the dog to look up at him, "Thank you for coming, Sirius. It means a lot to me."  
  
Snuffles huffed, then whined. He stopped resisting Remus's hand on his scruff and instead trotted a few paces down the hall before turning to look back over his shoulder with a particularly resigned expression on his face.  
  
Remus laughed and looked at Harry, "Your father would be proud of your manipulation, Harry."  
  
Harry widened his eyes innocently, "I don't know what you're talking about, Professor!"  
  
Remus slanted him an amused look, "Of course you don't." He started down the hall after his animagus friend, "And it's Remus when we're not in class."  
  
As the three reached the entrance to his father's rooms, Harry turned to address the tree in the landscape. "Requiem," he hissed in parseltongue, and the picture swung outwards, revealing a closed door. Before he had a chance to knock, the door opened inwards, revealing Severus standing on the other side. Harry readjusted the pensieve and smiled up at his father.  
  
"Harry. Remus," Severus acknowledged the pair standing directly on his threshold before moving his eyes past them. His lip curled, "Black."  
  
Harry glanced back over his shoulder to see that his godfather had resumed his human form. Harry sighed. Sirius was Not Pleased to be here, capitals and all. He turned away again.  
  
"Hello Pater," Harry said and ducked past him into the room beyond.  
  
"Good evening, Severus," Remus nodded to his fellow professor as he followed Harry into the room.  
  
Both Harry and Remus turned back in time to see the brief stand-off in the doorway as Severus refused to move completely out of the way to allow Sirius to enter. Apparently, he wasn't going to move until the other man responded to his greeting. Just as obviously, Sirius was going to be stubborn about it. Until Harry caught his eye over his father's shoulder. Sirius relented.  
  
"Snape," he acknowledged curtly.  
  
Severus stepped back and allowed Sirius to enter his rooms. When he turned back from closing the door, there was a smirk on his face. Harry frowned and set his pensieve down on the little table between the wingback chairs in front of the hearth.  
  
There was a table in the middle of the room that hadn't been there before, and it blocked all view of the mahogany desk at the other end of the room. The table had been set for four, and an assortment of dishes was already arranged amongst the cutlery and crockery. Harry had to hide a smirk when he saw a dish of chocolate truffles sitting rather close to one plate; he couldn't help recalling his birthday lunch, when Remus had first informed him that truffles were his father's favourite treat.  
  
Suppressing the smirk, Harry turned to face the three older men in the room. All desire to smile died. Severus's lip was still curled as he eyed Sirius obliquely. There was a dark glint in his eyes, and Harry was reminded of the argument between these two men in Dumbledore's office not more than four days ago.  
  
Remus was standing between his two friends, but behind either of them; he wasn't in their direct line of sight. Which probably explained why he wasn't guarding his expression. He didn't realise that Harry was watching and could see the troubled look in his eyes when he looked at Sirius that faded to wistfulness as his eyes travelled to Severus. Harry blinked, and by the time his eyes opened again, Remus had noticed his attention and had shuttered his expression.  
  
Sirius, though, was the worst. He stood stiffly just inside the door, gazing appraisingly about the room. Harry saw when his eye caught on the photo of James, Lily and an infant Harry that stood on the mantelpiece. His eyes flashed, and for a moment, Harry read the lingering traces of betrayal there. Sirius looked away from the picture and his gaze landed on Severus. His brows lowered and his jaw set. Harry noticed that Sirius refused to even look at Remus now that he was confronted with all this proof of the true form of James's family. He still blamed Remus for not telling him and it was plain to see how much that hurt the werewolf.  
  
Harry wished briefly that Sakuna was with him, but his quetzalcoatl familiar had informed him earlier that, via the medium of Sasu, Severus had decreed that Sakuna should be left behind. Looking around, Harry noticed that Sasu wasn't in evidence either. Harry supposed that she had been banished to his father's bedroom for the evening. Harry wasn't really surprised that the twin quetzalcoatl had been banned, considering the shambles they had made of his Potions class the morning before, but it would have been nice to have the support of his familiar. It didn't take a genius to know that this evening wouldn't be a simple convivial meal between friends and family.  
  
Sighing, Harry moved to the table and took the chair at its foot. Remus followed his lead and took the seat adjacent to Harry's on the far side of the table. They both turned to watch Sirius and Severus eye each other up in a hostile manner. Finally, Severus looked away, and Sirius smiled triumphantly. Severus took his place at the head of the table and looked back at his adversary.  
  
"Well, Black?" he snarked, "Do you plan on joining us or would you prefer-"  
  
Whatever insult he was about to deliver was cut off when Remus placed a cautionary hand over his own. Harry didn't notice the gesture; he was watching his godfather. The smile had slipped from Sirius's features. It was replaced by a faint frown as Sirius took the last remaining seat, shifting it not-so-subtly closer to Harry's. Harry smiled briefly at him and turned in time to see his father looking at Remus, a faintly surprised expression on his face. Remus retracted his hand quickly and dropped it in his lap.  
  
"Thank you for inviting us to dinner, Severus. I know that school has been back only a little over a week, but it's still nice to be able to sit down to a nice *quiet* meal on occasion. And I know Sirius has to be glad to have the chance to partake of a civilised meal in company..."  
  
"So what are we having for dinner, Pater?" Harry said quickly, reaching for the nearest covered dish. His father had been about to use Remus's comments to insult his godfather, so he had jumped in before Severus could speak.  
  
Severus's mouth shut with an audible click as he watched his son spoon rice onto his plate without even waiting for an answer, babbling all the while, "Oh rice, that's always a good accompaniment. And red wine casserole? No, that's not casserole, is it?" Harry set down the unidentified dish, and picked up a small bowl, knowing that his father was getting annoyed with him, "Yoghurt? With rice?" he set the bowl aside and lifted the lid off a ceramic pot, "What on earth is this?" He scooped some of the khaki-green, lumpy dish up and let it fall back into the pot, "Ugh. What ever it is, it doesn't look very appetising..."  
  
He had pushed the pot away and was reaching for the plate of strange pancake-like breads when his father snapped, "Harry James Severus!"  
  
Harry drew his hands back into his lap and looked up at the man at the other end of the table. Oops. Maybe he'd gone just a little too far in trying to divert attention. The Potions Master was looking distinctly displeased with his son's display. From the corner of his eye, Harry could see Remus covering a smile with his hand; the werewolf had caught on to what Harry had been trying to do.  
  
"What do you think you are doing, Mr Snape-Potter?" Oh, see? Now, that wasn't good. His father was calling him by his last name. On Harry's other side, Sirius bristled at Severus's tone.  
  
"Um? I was hungry?" Harry hazarded an explanation.  
  
Severus's eyes bugged slightly, "Hungry? Hunger doesn't excuse acting like that, young man," - now Remus's smile had more to do with Severus's fatherly reaction than with Harry's actions - "I won't have any son of mine acting like an unmannered boor."  
  
Sirius's chair toppled backwards as he shot up. Harry paled slightly and Remus lost all desire to laugh.  
  
"How dare you talk to Harry like that, you Slytherin bastard!" Sirius snarled.  
  
Severus stood slowly, drawing himself to his full height before he coldly replied, "I am Harry's father and I will talk to him in any manner I choose."  
  
"Not while I'm around, you won't," Sirius had his hands clenched at his sides.  
  
Severus looked down his nose at the other man, then deliberately sat back down, "Feel free to leave, then. I won't stop you."  
  
"Demonic bastard. How you managed to trick James into..." Sirius caught himself and took a deep breath, "You have no idea how to treat Harry. You don't deser-"  
  
"Sirius!" Remus brought both hands down on either side of his plate, making his dinner setting jump. Unfortunately, he didn't manage to shock sense into his friend, only draw attention to himself.  
  
"And you're not a lot better, Remus. You knew even back in school what was going on and you never told me! How could you Remus? I was your best friend. Didn't that mean anything to you?"  
  
"Of course it meant... it means something to me, Sirius, but James and Severus -"  
  
"*Snape*," the derision was heavy in Sirius's tone and his eyes turned sad, "When did he come to mean more to you than I did? You don't."  
  
"Sirius." Harry pleaded.  
  
His godfather stopped and looked down at him, his jaw working harshly. His eyes softened slightly when they took in the plea in Harry's eyes and he nodded minutely, before stepping back from the table.  
  
Severus had been uncharacteristically quiet through the entire exchange and when Sirius looked at him before turning away, he barely even curled his lip. Sirius said nothing more as he left the room.  
  
"Sirius!" Remus jumped to his feet, "I'm sorry Severus, but I have to go after him..." Remus's hazel eyes begged for forgiveness.  
  
Severus nodded briefly and Remus's strained lips twisted in a parody of a smile.  
  
"Severus. Harry," Remus disappeared out the door after his hurt, angry friend, leaving Harry and Severus alone at the table, all the food untouched.  
  
Severus watched the door for a long moment, a strange expression in his eyes. When he turned back to the sole remaining person at his table, he raised an eyebrow.  
  
"I'm sorry Pater. I just didn't want you and Sirius to get into another fight." Who would have thought that an eyebrow would be such an effective tool in interrogation?  
  
Severus continued to stare at his son for a long moment before the brow lowered and he sighed, "It would have ended this way sooner or later, Harry. Although, we might have been able to actually eat before it happened if you hadn't tried so hard to prevent it." * * * * * * * TBC  
  
AN: does anyone remember what colour Remus's eyes actually are?  
  
AN2: If this chapter seems a little incomplete, that's because it is in a fashion. I have the next chapter all but finished (as in there's about two more paragraphs to be written) and it runs straight on from the end of this one. I'll have it up in another two days, okay?  
  
See that little button down the bottom left there?  
  
Press! Press like the wind, readers! 


	3. Chapter Three: Memorable Moments

AN: Well the consensus seems to be that Remus's eyes are indeed of an amber hue. Thanks for that guys. Now if only I can remember why exactly I was asking.... (Don't mind me. I have a splitting headache, and have had one all day...)  
  
Anyway, here is the next chapter as promised, right after I respond to my reviews...  
  
Mikee: Yes, Harry does try hard to keep the peace doesn't he? Maybe a little too hard at times... You thought Sirius's reaction to Sev was okay? I was worried that it was too abrupt. Always glad to get reviews from you. ^_~  
  
SlytherinAtHeart: Yep yep? You wouldn't have been watching 'The Land Before Time' recently? You sound like Ducky. ^_^ Hehe, anyway, I'm glad you've never read anything like my story before. Almost as glad as I am that you like them both!  
  
xikum: Hehe... yes, there are some things from the last chapter that need to be explained. Only, I'm not going to explain them just yet... At least not all of them. lol! I can't believe you actually recognized the meal! I was going to put in more detail about it, but I decide not to. Anyway, you're totally a reviewer after my own heart! I love Indian food. Now I'm hungry for a good curry. Answers about the blood-magic type and the significance of it all will come later... from another pensieve memory.  
  
allison: Eep, wouldn't want you to go crazy. I know I'm stretching my two- day time limit, but here's the next chapter, and I'm so glad you're enjoying!  
  
Ms. Issues: *blushes* It's awesome and one of your favourites? Thank you! Hehe, I thought Harry's attempt at a diversion was pretty funny too! As for the red dish: it was a type of curry, a Lamb Rogan Josh to be precise.  
  
Tracy Mintzmyer: Thank you! So glad this story is (so far) on a par with your opinion of the first.  
  
Sever Us: *L* I've been getting a lot of comments on the previous story. Which doesn't mean I don't like to hear them any more. And thank you for calling it unusual. Usual=normal, and normal is pretty boring...  
  
AN: Not as much resolution in this chapter as there should be, but... the plot bunny for it savagely attacked me the middle of the night and wouldn't leave me alone.  
  
Oh, and for those that are wondering (not xikum ^_~) the meal was an Indian one. The red dish was a curry, Lamb Rogan Josh. The green dish was something called dahl or daal, made from lentils, and the pancake-like bread was naan or roti. Put them together with rice and yoghurt and you have one of my favourite meals.  
  
Chapter Three: Memorable moments  
  
"What happened last night, Harry?"  
  
Harry looked up from his plate, were he'd been toying with the remnants of the Indian meal his father had introduced him to. Severus was staring across the table at him, his hands clasped in front of him. Harry pushed his plate away from him.  
  
"I don't know, really. One moment, I was looking at your memories, the next -" Harry shrugged.  
  
Severus raised a brow at him. Harry shifted in his seat and looked down at the table, running his thumb through a puddle of pumpkin juice. He didn't really want to talk about the second memory, but his father would pull it out of him eventually. Harry knew that he was just delaying the inevitable. Finally, he stilled his hands, flattening them on the table, and stared at the back of them. He wished again that Sakuna was with him.  
  
Not looking up, he started to talk, "I'm not sure what time it was, but I woke up in the middle of the night from bad dreams- don't know what they were about," he added, preempting his father's interruption, "I couldn't get back to sleep, so I decided to use the pensieve instead -"  
  
This time Severus did interrupt him, "You added your own memories to it unsupervised? Harry, what on earth did you think you were doing?"  
  
Harry flinched at the anger in his father's tone, "No! I was using it to look at *your* memories. I would never try to put my own in by myself!"  
  
"Then why did you come to me this morning saying that you'd seen your own memories in the pensieve?" the brow had risen again.  
  
Harry scowled, "I was getting to that when you interrupted."  
  
The other brow rose and Severus stared at his son for a moment, before he chuckled and gestured for him to continue.  
  
"I found the memory of your wedding day," Harry briefly smiled as he recalled his father's nervousness, "Did you really think Dad wouldn't turn up?"  
  
Severus glowered at Harry, who smirked and continued, "I saw you and Aunt Lily talking, and then she was reading and you were gathering herbs. I sat down and was watching you both. Only, I must have been more tired than I thought when I pulled out the pensieve. I started to nod off.  
  
"The next thing I knew, I was in this green room I'd never seen before and you weren't there too. It was only Dad and Aunt Lily and. um. little me. After a moment, I realized it must be my memory that I was watching. It's not like it could be anyone else's, is it? Dad and Aunt Lily were dead when you made that pensieve for me."  
  
Severus grunted noncommittally and gestured for Harry to quit babbling and hurry up.  
  
"Umm. I'm guessing it was a medical check-up for me, because shortly after I found myself there, a medi-witch and -wizard walked in. The medi-wizard took a blood sample from little me and left again, and Dad was soothing little me because the medi-wizard was rough, and Aunt Lily and the medi- witch were talking. Then the medi-witch came rushing back in and demanded to know what blood-magic type Aunt Lily was because they already had Dad's and they'd just found out that I had O-sigma.  
  
"Anyway, he was rude about it and the medi-witch hurried him out to talk to him, and while he was gone, Aunt Lily started to panic, because she didn't know what her magic type was and she was sure they were going to test her and realize that she couldn't possibly be my mother and that you'd be exposed and everything. Dad managed to calm her down, saying that since they already knew that his blood-magic type was O-theta, all he and Aunt Lily would have to do was to tell the medi-wizard that her magic type was sigma. That way, they wouldn't have to test her, and the secret would be safe.  
  
"So that's why I wanted to know if Dad's blood-magic type was O-theta. I wanted to see if it wasn't just a strange dream, or if it was really my own memory. After Aunt Lily and Dad agreed to lie about her magic-type, the memory ended, and -" Harry had been about to tell his father of the other memory he had relived in the pensieve, "- and Sakuna somehow turned up in the pensieve and told me that I had to wake up. That was when I realized that I'd actually *fallen* *asleep*."  
  
Harry looked up from his hands and met his father's eyes. They were shadowed and unreadable as he considered what Harry had just told him. Finally, after several long moments, Severus spoke.  
  
"What other memory of you own did you see last night?" he asked.  
  
Harry flinched, "I- there was only that one. I mean, maybe there's some more of mine in there, but I didn't see."  
  
Harry trailed of lamely under the heavy black gaze of the Potions Master.  
  
"Harry. What did you see?" Severus's tone brooked no argument.  
  
Harry looked down at his hands again, "The night Dad and Aunt Lily died," he whispered and desperately fought against the tears that wanted to escape.  
  
There was a startled sound from the other side of the table, and when Harry looked, Severus was staring at him, his eyes brimming with sympathy and his own pain.  
  
Severus gestured towards where Harry had left his pensieve, "May I look at it?"  
  
Harry nodded numbly and didn't get up as his father moved past him and picked up the blue stone bowl. He swiveled in his seat and watched as Severus settled into one of the chairs by the fire and balanced the pensieve in his lap. Severus withdrew his wand and stirred the contents of the pensieve with its tip, before touching the silver substance himself. Harry watched in fascination as a rush of silver light seemed to carry the very life of his father into the pensieve with it. When it cleared, Severus was still bent over the pensieve, but he was so still it was as though he wasn't even breathing anymore.  
  
Harry had never witnessed someone else using a pensieve before, and he wasn't sure what would happen if he interrupted his father, so he stayed in his chair at the dining table and waited. Almost fifteen minutes later, there was a reverse rush of that silver light, and life was restored to Severus's form with a lurch.  
  
The knuckles of the hand that clutched his wand were bone white, and when Severus turned his head to look at his son, Harry saw the silvery track a single tear had drawn down his cheek.  
  
In a curiously tight voice, Severus said, "More than just two of your memories now reside in here."  
  
With that, he set aside the pensieve, and disappeared into his bedroom. When he didn't reappear again after several minutes, Harry got up and crept over to the pensieve, peering into its bowl. There was still a window open in its centre, showing a room Harry recognized as the kitchen of the house at Godric's Hollow. It was empty, except for Harry's dad sitting at the kitchen table, clutching a crying young Harry to him. Tears rolled down James's cheeks and Harry wondered what it was that had made both his fathers cry.  
  
Harry touched the silver fluid and allowed it to suck him into the dark whirlpool of transition.  
  
~ The world steadied under Harry's feet and he was standing in the corner of the kitchen, watching the three people gathered around the table. Sirius was looking unusually sober, his face blank, and his eyes earnest.  
  
~ Across from him sat James and Lily. Lily was clutching James's arm were it lay on the table, her green eyes troubled. James had his free arm wrapped about a particularly somber little Harry in his lap.  
  
~ For the moment, nobody spoke, and Harry looked around the kitchen. It was a cheery room, done in a bright blue. There was a vase of dried wild flowers sitting in the middle of the table, and the room smelt like fresh baked bread. Outside the window, the sky was glowing scarlet with the sunset. All in all, the setting belied the tension Harry could feel in this memory. The tension he must have felt even as a one-year-old child for it to be so strong.  
  
~ "Are you saying you don't want to be our secret keeper, Sirius?" Lily's voice was tight and it brought Harry's attention snapping back to the group at the table. He had just realized why everyone was so tense. Sirius was trying to convince Lily and James to use Pettigrew as the secret keeper instead of himself.  
  
~ Sirius shook his head jerkily, "No! Of course not! Nothing like that."  
  
~ "Then why won't you do it?" James's voice was almost hostile.  
  
~ "Listen, James, I'm your bestfriend-"  
  
~ "Exactly!" Lily interrupted, "So why won't you do it?"  
  
~ Sirius glared at her mildly and turned back to James, "I'm your bestfriend, and *everybody* knows it. Including Voldemort. If you and Lily and Harry disappear off his radar, he's going to know you used the Fidelus Charm. And who do you think the first person he comes after will be? Me."  
  
~ "You'll be going into hiding too, won't you? So Voldemort would have to find you first."  
  
~ "Lily, everyone knows by now what a good network of spies Voldemort has. If I'm not under the same charm, how long do you think it would take for him to find me?"  
  
~ "You'd still have to want to give up the secret, Sirius, and I refuse to believe that you'd ever do that," James said staunchly.  
  
~ "You're right, I wouldn't. But all Voldemort'd have to do is put me under the Imperius Curse and I'd be spilling everything to him and smiling while I did it."  
  
~ Lily and James looked at each other for a long moment and from his corner, Harry could tell they were considering his words. Harry felt like screaming at them not to listen, that Pettigrew would betray them.  
  
~ Finally, James turned to look at Sirius, "Okay, you win. We'll get Remus to be our secret keeper." He hugged his son closer to him.  
  
~ Sirius shook his head slowly, "No. Not Remus."  
  
~ Lily and James blinked at him.  
  
~ "Why not Remus?" Lily asked.  
  
~ Sirius looked torn and leant closer conspiringly, "I don't think Remus can be trusted."  
  
~ James and Lily stared at him aghast.  
  
~ "How could you say that, Sirius!" James shouted, "How could you think that Moony would ever betray us! He'd never do a thing like that, and you know it!"  
  
~ Sirius was shaking his head sadly, "But he's dark creature, Prongs, and we all know that Voldemort is recruiting them."  
  
~ "Sirius Orion Black," Lily hissed, "I can't believe you're accusing one of you best friends of being a follower of that. that. monster!"  
  
~ "No! I don't think he's a follower, I just think it'd be even more dangerous for you to have Remus as your Secret Keeper than it would be to have me. Like it or not, Moony *is* a werewolf and because of that, he's vulnerable."  
  
~ James and Lily stared at him for a long moment, before James sighed, "Then who would you suggest, Padfoot?"  
  
~ Sirius smiled slightly, "Peter."  
  
~ "Peter? As in Peter Pettigrew?" Lily exclaimed, "But he's so *weak*!"  
  
~ Sirius smiled even more, "That's the beauty of it! Who'd ever suspect little Peter of being your secret keeper. And he'd be going into hiding too, with me as his secret keeper, so even if someone did suspect him, they'd have an impossible time trying to find him."  
  
~ James shook his head and looked down at the child in his arms, "I don't know, Siri. I'd still prefer it if you were our secret keeper. Or if we could at least tell S-Dumbledore before we changed it."  
  
~ Lily, and Harry standing in the corner, where thankfully the only ones that noticed James's small slip of the tongue. Lily was eyeing her supposed husband shrewdly.  
  
~ "Sirius, do you suppose James and I could talk about this for a moment?"  
  
~ Sirius obligingly stood up, "Sure, I'll just go wait in the study, shall I?"  
  
~ He'd already started down the hall to the study and so didn't notice James's flinch at the mention of the study, the room where James's husband spent most of his time. The moment Sirius was gone, Lily spelled the door shut and put up a silencing charm so that they wouldn't be overheard.  
  
~ "James, Sirius does have a point. When we disappear, Voldemort's going to go after him first."  
  
~ James nodded, "I know but. Wouldn't it be easier if we used Remus? We already know that he won't betray us. I mean, if he was spying for Voldemort, that monster would already know that Severus is my husband. But he doesn't, and he won't ever hear it from Remus's lips."  
  
~ "Do you not trust Peter?"  
  
~ "No, it's not that. It's just."  
  
~ Lily stopped James with a hand on his shoulder, "That's not the real reason, is it?"  
  
~ James looked up then, and his face was a stark white, and there was tears pooling in his eyes. Lily squeezed his shoulder tighter.  
  
~ "You don't want Severus thinking that Sirius is our secret keeper when it's really Peter, do you? You'd rather it was Remus because you know that Remus would probably tell Severus about the switch."  
  
~ A tear streaked down James's cheek and splashed onto his son's head. The child Harry looked up at his father with a worried expression on his face. James gave him a watery smile.  
  
~ "James, what good would that do? Severus wouldn't be able to see us until after we came out of hiding either way."  
  
~ James wrenched his shoulder from his sister-in-law's grip and stood up abruptly, frightening a yelp from his son, "He's my husband Lily! Don't you think he has a right to know who's hiding me, and his sister, not to mention his son?!"  
  
~ "James! Calm down! You're frightening Harry."  
  
~ James pressed the white face of his son into his shoulder and rocked him, "Its not fair. Lily. Severus won't see us again for gods only know how long, and he told me his only consolation during that time would be knowing that we were under the protection of someone I trust, even if he doesn't like him. You can't ask me to take that away from him, you can't!"  
  
~ "You're not thinking rationally," Lily said calmly, "We'll still be under the protection of someone you trust, it just won't be Sirius. Knowing Severus, he'd probably prefer it wasn't Sirius."  
  
~ "But why does it have to be Peter? Remus -"  
  
~ "Is un-contactable on a mission at the moment, and nobody knows when he'll be back. James, Peter really is a good choice. Sirius is right, who would ever think of him?"  
  
~ James turned away and started out the window as the sun made one last valiant effort to illuminate the sky, then died a bloody death, bleeding across the horizon. He ran a soothing hand down the child Harry's back. After a moment, he spoke without turning, "All right. We'll use Peter instead of Sirius."  
  
~ Behind him, Lily's eyes were pained and her voice was sad as she said, "I'll tell Sirius you're putting Harry to bed."  
  
~ She dispelled the silencing charm and unlocked the door, leaving James alone with his son to compose himself.  
  
~ James continued to stare out the window as the sky darkened. When the first of the stars appeared, he spoke in a soft whisper, "I love you, Severus."  
  
~ The child in his arms looked up at him, then followed his gaze out the window. In a hopeful voice, Harry heard his much younger self ask, "Pater?"  
  
~ James blinked and slowly turned to look down into the upturned face. Another tear escaped at the sight of the hopeful look on his son's face. It slid down his face and splashed onto the baby's cheek. James swiped it away with a trembling thumb, "No, Harry. No Pater tonight."  
  
~ In his corner, the older Harry could hear the words that went unsaid. '*Or tomorrow night, or the next, or any night for who knows how long?*' And he was the only one in the room that knew that James, at least, would never see 'Pater' again.  
  
~ His tear matched the ones the rolled down James's and the baby's cheeks. The young Harry began to sob, and James carried him back to the table and sat down, cradling the child against him.  
  
~ "I know, love. I miss him, too."  
  
When Harry left the pensieve he simply sat for a long time. Now that he knew what had caused both of his fathers to cry, he almost wished he didn't.  
  
TBC  
  
AN: sorry this chapter isn't better/longer. I fully intended to work on it, but as I mentioned at the beginning of the chapter, I haven't been feeling well. Hence the reason this chapter isn't the best, most informative, or longest.  
  
Besides, I finally got around to reading Severitus's 'A Father's Sin' and am feeling a little inadequate.  
  
Feel free to hit the button you all know by know and rail at me. 


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